Open-eyed Dreams
by silverstream94
Summary: Haruno Sakura was one of the few civilian children present in the esteemed Konoha Ninja Academy. Her previous records showed her as a Straight A student, curious by nature and quick to grasp things. However, her homeroom teacher constantly found her to be spaced-out and almost earmarked to be a dropout soon for reasons beyond his comprehension. Can a chanced meeting with the Uchih
1. Chapter 1

Disclamer:I don't own naruto.

AU: Uchiha non massacre or maybe postponed for a while.

**Summary: Haruno Sakura was one of the few civilian children present in the esteemed Konoha Ninja Academy. Her previous records showed her as a Straight A student, curious by nature and quick to grasp things. However, her homeroom teacher constantly found her to be spaced-out and almost earmarked to be a dropout soon for reasons beyond his comprehension. Can a chanced meeting with the Uchiha prodigy save Sakura and her failing dream of being a ninja?**

Note:

_Sakura is an average civilian child._

_Her burgeoning crush on Sasuke is currently a secret from everyone,even Ino._

This is my first story here. So constructive criticism and feedback is much desired.

* * *

It was a really, really sunny afternoon in Konohagakure. The soft noises of the village people bustling around intermingled with the sleepy afternoon lull. The vast shades of trees helped to cool off the sweltering heat. Among these muddy branches and dense thickets a pink head could be seen bobbing up and down. The jerking motion indicated a somewhat rough movement and the wildly splayed hair added a sensuous beauty to the little girl seated nimbly on one of the tree's branches, tucked in her own little secret space. Two lunch boxes were seated innocuously beside her. The little girl busied herself by tidying her already pristine dress and the spot beside her. A sigh escaped her lips- the sigh that accompanies a young woman as she waits for her accomplice in love.

"Sakura"

A voice floated by as soft as the falling leaves. A low, soft sound accompanied by a tone of soft reprimand made its way to the pinkette's ears.

Her only response was a smile which spread teasingly over her pink lips. Another soft sigh escaped her as she swung her pretty little head to catch a look of the reclusive raven haired heartthrob.

"Sasuke-kunn!" Her own voice was a dreamy whisper of longing and...

"HARUNO SAKURA..."

Flustered by the harsh sound the little girl looked around, gasping like a fish which has just been pulled out of water.

"h-hai...Iruka-sensei.."

"What are the different elements used in ninjutsu?."

" a-ah..um..."

"No. I don't remember teaching any elements that go by the name of 'ah' and 'um'"

As the class of ten year olds peeled off in laughters and snickers, the girl bowed her head out of shame but for the mere sake of conformity. With slightly reddening cheeks she peeked between her lashes at the familiar raven tousled head...which was also thrown back in laughter. The teacher in charge shushed the class. With a pointed look at Sakura he resumed his explanation.

However the look was utterly wasted. Sakura didn't think about it even once. Nor did the snickers trouble her in any way. She seemed to be almost immune to it despite the previous reddening in her cheeks. For the girl's eyes were again fixated on her favourite person's head as her mind cheerfully galloped back to her secret space where two lunch boxes waited for her and her lover on a branch. She resumed her reverie of sharing her lunch with her Sasuke-kun. There in the huge green canopy, shielded from the prying eyes of the world-she and Sasuke-kun will sit together side by side, sharing secret smiles and soft talks. She would lift her box nimbly and take out her chopsticks. Like the graceful geishas illustrated on the magazines Ino's mom had, she would hold her chopsticks at an appealing angle, cocking her head to a side while lifting a piece of riceball and feeding –kun will respond with a smile while taking the riceball into his mouth. He will munch slowly, thoughtfully, all the while looking at her out of the corner of his smouldering gazelle like he would compliment her on how good of a cook she is, and how lovely she looks sitting there looking shyly at him. And he would also comment on how lucky she was to...

"Psst Sakura..."

" SA Ku Ra"...

"SAAaaakuraa.."

A series of annoying whispers brought back sakura to the scene in front of her unwillingly. She looked around her to find the intruder who dared stop whatever praise Sasuke-kun was about to lavish on her. Green eyes scanned her surrounding unwittingly while a pout steadily took the place of the whimsical smile on her chubby face. They landed on a pair of curious blue eyes.

"Ino.." Her throaty whisper seemed too high pitch for her liking.

"Aa...You took so long". Ino responded. "We plan to play tag this afternoon...you coming...?"

"Aa...No.."

Ino's chubby face fell at her friend's refusal to come along. The ten year old girl found it difficult to fathom that her pink haired friend didn't want to play with her. Sometime ago, sakura was not like this. She loved playing with now...looks like she has got a new friend or something...

Sakura felt a little pang of guilt at seeing Ino turn away without responding anything. But like the dew drops in sunshine, it evaporated soon enough. Why should she play with classmates, when she could be happy simply being with Sasuke-kun in her little tree. Next to that, all things paled in comparison. Her thoughts, time and sole reason to sit in academy was soon becoming centred on just one thing-Sasuke-kun. In her mind, she and Sasuke-kun were meant to be together ...they were...what was it called...yes, they were _**Soulmates**_. Her little mind scanned the word again. She remembered reading it in those glossy magazines..and she remembered how Kaa-san had explained it to her. Since then it stuck with ..She and Sasuke-kun were that...Soulmates.

_**"Two people who recognise their other half in each other, bound to each other by an invisible but strong bond of love, meant to be with one another through their various cycles of birth and rebirth."**_

Pleased with her new line of thought, Sakura flipped to the end of her writing notebook and began to doodle. She artfully wrote the word 'Soulmates" in big curly hand decorated with little loops around the edges, with a remarkable flowing style. Next she drew a tree trunk, tall and broad dotted here and there to make its age look prominent. A decoration of leaves followed. Two little lunch boxes were the important details filled in. However, try as she might , Sakura **_could not _**write her and Sasuke's names together in the heart she had drawn in the middle of the tree as she had_** intended**_ to.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you Suzululu4moe for making my day! Reviews feel great.

Disclamer: I don't own naruto.

AU: Non-massacre or maybe postponed for a while.

Summary: Haruno Sakura was one of the few civilian children present in the esteemed Konoha Ninja Academy. Her previous records showed her as a Straight A student, curious by nature and quick to grasp things. However, her homeroom teacher constantly found her to be spaced-out and almost earmarked to be a dropout soon for reasons beyond his comprehension. Can a chanced meeting with the Uchiha prodigy save Sakura and her failing dream of being a ninja?

* * *

Iruka beamed with satisfaction as he saw the students filing out of the class. He took a great pride in teaching these young budding ninjas. These young children would one day grow up to be the defenders of his village, his beloved konohagakure. The path of a ninja was a was well aware of that. Out of these budding students only a select few would be able to make genin. And after that, they would be risking their life for every single mission,every single night,every single day. A large population of inept ninjas would pay with their lives at failed missions. But that was how things was supposed to be. It was his duty to instill the Will of Fire in each one of these younglings, so that they make a better Konoha. It was his mission to ensure that they had the best study materials ,the best teachers and solid training. This work was easy usually because most of the students hailed from shinobi clans. They had additional help along with the Academy. Notable clans like Hyuuga ,Uchiha ,Inuzuka trained their children in ninja arts from almost the moment they learn to walk. But there were others who needed help. With enough training the Academy might produce some exceptional geniuses. .Speaking of genius, he recalled the pink haired civilian girl he had admonished today for her lack of attentiveness. Frowning, Iruka decided to take a look at her record. Making way for the record room he retrieved her file.

Haruno Sakura

Civilian

Fourth year academy student

Rank: A

Iruka eyebrows creased deeply. This civilian girl had been an exceptional civilian student. She had aced almost all of her theory tests. She had scored well on the successive mock tests,pop quizzes,random tests that the teachers threw at her. Despite being of civilian origin she had entered the ninja academy at almost the same age as other children of elite clans. Not only she absorbed information like a sponge but also showed remarkable skill in retaining ,memorising and ,being a chunin ,saw that the girl lacked the practical , combats,simple basic karate kata,substitution ,camouflage, mock missions and other practical stuff made up for the fifth and sixth years. If this girl was so good at theory wouldn't natural curiosity lead her to try out the stuff she has learnt so well on paper? Or has the ninja arts lost its appeal to her because it is no longer fanciful theories?

Iruka closed her file thoughtfully. He would have to watch the girl carefully. If she no longer shows the same bent towards her studies she would have to be taken off.

Something didn't feel quite right to Iruka. He found it very strange to see somebody lose all interest in a subject which had fascinated so deeply. Judging by her marks and her promptness for the past three years Iruka knew that the girl must have loved ninja studies. Furthermore,the record did not show a decline in marks so assuming that the study has lost its appeal didn't seem right. That she simply got bored was out of question. No. There had to be a big reason for this sudden shift. He made a mental note to watch the girl. Pushing an unprepared civilian child in a ninja world would be nothing short of _murder _anyway.

* * *

Sakura sat huddled in front of her chest of drawers. She looked at the shut door of her room to ensure that no one would suddenly barge in. After all, this was her biggest secret. She opened the last drawer. Pushing the various clothes and other items aside she brought out a little diary. It was absolutely plain at the front. At the very bottom of the first page was a word in barely legible writing. It said "Sasuke-kun". But it was so minuscule that only the writer would know what it meant anyway. She opened the diary. A number of torn notebook pages writing paper, drawing papers were stuck to it featuring sketches of a black spiky haired head and a dark blue shirt with the Fan symbol stitched in it. It was made from various angles. Apart from this there were pictures of trees, sheltered wooded areas, dango shops , libraries, benches were Sakura would imagine meeting Sasuke and then would sketch it out. Numerous papers showed a heart drawing with S and S or S H and S U symbols drawn in pretty flowers or cloud shapes. Some more letters, thrust to the back showed messily scratched out words where every scratch served the purpose of obliterating the word. However ,a close look would reveal the beginning curve of S and the straight lines of K and H.

Sakura fondled the papers for some time before placing her new drawing of the heart in the Tree in the diary. She smiled softly at her eyes glazed over with longing raging through her tiny heart for the boy. She wondered what Sasuke might be doing right mind could never be tired of coming up with various ways in which she would meet Sasuke kun. However, the fact that sakura could not possibly write the name legibly for the**_ fear of being discovered_** said a different story entirely. It was simple to go about drawing sketches of her dream boy however it was a different matter entirely to actually confess her feelings. Like all ambitious dreamers little Sakura was hoping to reach the Sun while she remained locked up in her castle of dreams.

"Sakura-chan, dinner is done sweetie."

On hearing her mother's voice Sakura sprang like a lever. With wide eyes she quickly stuffed the papers back in the diary praying fervently that her mother does not decide to come up. With an uncommon accuracy she arranged the clothes and other miscellaneous items exactly as they had been. She looked sharply for any tell-tale sign of bumps which might give away the presence of her secret. Finding none she got up , shut the drawer and raced downstairs.

If the little girl had a few second more she might have noticed one tiny scrap of paper which had escaped her hurried stowing and was now snugly concealed beneath the drawer poking its tiny head out. The said paper was quite had been torn out of a note pad and proudly depicted heart shaped flowers containing the initials S.H and bees on the flower surreptiously hiding initials of S.U in a shaded area of its belly.

* * *

Kizashi Haruno smiled as he watched his daughter run down the stairs. As expected she flew in his arms and he twirled her around.

"Now,now Kizashi,put her down before she feels giddy"His wife Meibuki spoke up.A smile played on her lips.

"What's for dinner,Kaa –san?"

"Noodles and fried cabbage ,dear. Come,help me set the table sweetie."

Sakura ran. Dinner was a pleasant affair in which most of the talking of babbling was done by Sakura. Kizashi laughed silently at his wife 's attempts to quieten down their little girl so that she doesn't choke on her food. He liked Sakura talking continuously. She was shy and a bit of a loner. She had only one friend-that Yamanaka girl. Despite attending two schools their daughter did not make many friends.

Kizashi never liked his baby daughter studying in the ninja academy. They were a civilian family,not shared the same distaste of the civilians towards the shinobis. To the civilians,all of the shinobi were killers , 't that what they were taught? Assasinations,espionage,information gatherings? He had seen children of shinobis as young as nine year olds playing with sharp kunais and shrurikens. It had numbed him to think that his baby girl too would have to same thing as part of her training. She wasn't meant for was a civilian a shinobi child. Those shinobi children ,if they sliced their hand during practice would probably heal within a few seconds thanks to their superior genes, medic-nins, stamina, familial techniques and what not. On the other hand if his baby cut her hand she would have to bandage it and allow her own body to heal herself. The minimum time taken would be a week at least depending on the cut. Not to mention that the only consequence for a ninja was death if he ever made the slightest mistake. Furthermore,she was a girl. not a boy. This did not have anything to do with their gender. Even shinobi clans mainly sent their boys to be a ninja. Society had always been unfair to women,a concept Kizashi now understood being a girl's father. Who knew what atrocities could be committed against women by the enemy ?

Despite his reservations kizashi had to send his daughter to Ninja Academy .It would have broken Sakura's heart otherwise. And seeing his daughter upset would have made Kizashi go mad.

He distinctly remembered the day it had started. He had come home to find Sakura scrunching her palms sitting on the carpet while her gaze was fixed on a nearby open book.

"What are you doing Sakura" he had asked ,only to get an answer that had numbed him

"Otou-san, why isn't my chakra coming out of my fingertips like it says in the book". Kizashi was stunned. To have his daughter taking about stuff like chakra at the age of six!

"Put The Book Back"

He had ordered her sternly, hoping that his harshness would deter her. Sakura had looked at him with widened eyes and downward turned lips. She had obeyed him then, but was far from deterred. If anything, her determination grew even more.

"You Are NOT to Read anything on that subject again". He had declared. Which of course, was a very, very wrong thing to say to a child. Not because the child would become fearful and give up but because the child will find an extra sense of pleasure in doing exactly what was forbidden. Sakura became as stubborn as a he knew it,she had devoured every book on the subject of ninja studies available at the public library.

Public Library ,my foot! Kizashi thought with a snort. That blasted place was responsible for corrupting his daughter's little mind. Only in a damned ninja village would a person put books such as "Beginners Guide to Chakra" or "The path of the Ninja" in the children's section for crying out loud!That too complete with pictures and fewer words to aid in the understanding or rather corrupting the minds of little six year olds.! If it weren't for his business Kizashi would have relocated back then.

So those innocuous books lead Sakura to sign up for the Ninja Academy. Plenty of times both he and Meibuki refused,but Sakura wide green eyes and threatening tears made them give in. Reluctantly they let her in hoping that she might be rejected. The momentary pain would probably help her in the long run. But Fate seemed to be completely against them. Not only did Sakura get in at the same age as the shinobi children but she came rushing to them with an ear to ear grin and sparkling eyes,month after month,with straight A's. Their hearts drowned in distress but they faked their smiles and pats for their girls sake.

Kizashi blamed his wife for passing on her obstinacy to their daughter. She had responded with a glare of her own making him realize that he himself was quite the strong-willed type. And Sakura ,unfortunately, had inherited them both in this regard.

They had come up with a plan got Sakura enrolled in a civilian school hoping she would cultivate an interest in this area and forget ninja stuff as a funny episode in the process of growing boy,they were civilian school taught subjects like grammar,dance,drawing,math,science,cooking and so on. Things that she should know. Not how to utilize her energy in sneaking around gathering intel.

The parents watched with growing trepidation as their daughter was initially burdened with the pressure of so many subjects. She attended civilian school in the morning and ninja academy later. It hurt them indefinitely to know that their little one was cooped over in the Ninja school hunched over some freaking book while other civilian children played and visited each other during the afternoon.

Oh they did pay the cost of this. They watched uneasily how their child would come in tired. They worried how she never wanted to play because of exhaustion. They clasped each other's hands when their daughter would sleep for three hours straight on what was supposed to be an afternoon her will was strong, too strong for her age. And so her body learnt to cope up with the stressful result was straight A's in ninja seemed to work in their began dreading the day Sakura would be chosen to be a civilian parents knew,that that would probably the last time they would live with their that missions would become her life.

Not only this ,Sakura's social life also suffered. Being an only child, Sakura was shy and nervous around people of her age. She didn't know how to make friends or how to involve herself with a group. As the school hours increased, the play hours decreased. Sakura's strong curiosity made her devour book after book instead of actually going out and making friends. Even though her parents continuosly asked about her classmates and sent her regularly to the civilian park it brought them little result. They were overjoyed when Sakura brought Ino over one day .Until they realised with frustration that she was a shinobi just like everything else their love tied their hands and they welcomed Ino whenever she came by. She was in effect,Sakura's only friend.

* * *

A large yawn from sakura got her parent's attention.

"C,mon Sweetie-up you go"

Sakura hugged both her parents and went ten minutes time,she brushed her teeth and was ready in her parents came and tucked her kissed them both good night.

She lay there in spite of her tired body ,her mind was wide awake. she rolled over clutching a pillow to her chest.A mummer escaped her "Sasuke-kun".

And just like that Sakura began to build rosy dreams of meeting Sasuke-kun the next would help him with his Sasuke-kun would thank her and tell her that she is smart and would look up shyly and smile at he would ask her to be his friend. They will hold hands and make the pinkie promise of being friends forever.

With a smile on her lips and a dream in her head ,Sakura drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A.N: initials of S.h mean Sakura Haruno and S.U mean Sasuke Sakura is too scared right now to write their complete names lest someone discover it.

Reviews are much desired and much much more appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Open Eyed Dreams

Chapter-3

Thank You people!Many thanks to everyone who has added my story to favourite list. Few things are more encouraging for a writer than the love shown by her readers.

Disclamer: I don't own Naruto.

AU: Non-massacre or maybe postponed for a while.

Itachi is thirteen.

Sakura, Sasuke and other academy kids are nine.

In my previous chapters, though i have referred Sakura to be of ten years, I request my readers to please accept this minor edit.

* * *

Summary: Haruno Sakura was one of the few civilian children present in the esteemed Konoha Ninja Academy. Her previous records showed her as a Straight A student, curious by nature and quick to grasp things. However, her homeroom teacher constantly found her to be spaced-out and almost earmarked to be a dropout soon for reasons beyond his comprehension. Can a chanced meeting with the Uchiha prodigy save Sakura and her failing dream of being a ninja?

* * *

The village of Konohagakure throbbed with power. Of all of the ninja nations, Konohagakure was the largest, the strongest, the mightiest. One can feel the tendrils of chakra in the vibrant air. It could be felt in the lively movement of the breeze, in the prolonged freshness of the village's greenery. One can feel the political prestige in the swirls of the leaf proudly adorned on each and every wall. The buildings thronged with green flax jackets and black anbu guards.

The Hokage tower stood out sharply from the rest of the village buildings. Even a common visitor could pinpoint the building to be of some High Order judging by the regular patrolling of the chunin guards. A good ninja could pinpoint several underlying chakra traps, genjutsu traps, camouflaged chunin guards, Special Jounins and even Anbu responsible for looking after the security of the Tower. Only average ninjas were ever admitted into the building,the elite ones usually poofed in the Hokage Office or used the more 'comfortable' option of scaling up the wall and sailing in through the window.

Sarutobi, the esteemed Hokage was well aware with the idiosyncrasies of his ninja populace, having dealt with them during his two sessions as the Hokage of the Village. He rarely was started when the ninjas, particularly those returning from missions decided to randomly 'poof' in his office. Some of his elite workers even had special access to him, especially those elite forces which got the files labelled "confidential". The details of such missions were often meant only for the ears of those undertaking it and the Hokage himself. Mostly such missions were given out during nights, after the day workers had retired, to avoid unsuspecting folks. The reports were heard as soon as the mission as completed.

Today, there was one particular report that had been preventing the Hokage to retire to bed, even though the paperwork for the day had been completed long ago, for a change. Sighing, the Hokage's eyes flicked briefly again to a particular shadowy corner behind his desk for a moment before returning randomly to the book, trying to read it, but unsuccessfully.

The clock ticked further. A full ten minutes passed. Sarutobi briefly sighed again. He contemplated on the thought that had been insistently troubling him all day. He found himself questioning his actions, his decisions today regarding one particular elite ninja. Everything on this ninja's profile was of top-grade, absolutely perfect regarding his age and experience in the actual ninja world. Which exactly was the matter troubling the Hokage. The said ninja, though of ANBU level, was only **of thirteen years** of was not even a proper teenager!

Having lived in the brutal ninja world long enough to be of old age, the Hokage had loads of practical wisdom at his disposal. He was an adept at spotting young prodigies and shaping them. He knew well enough how much they needed such talented ninjas, for they were one of the crucial elements of the village economy. They were the one who went by fond nicknames of 'Yellow Flash', 'White Fang' or 'Slug Sanin'. They struck fear into the heart of the transgressors, completed the maximum number of missions and brought in the most number of customers, particularly the high profile ones. They set new standards for the leaf. He also knew that such ninjas came rarely like this one was once in a generation.

He was a true prodigy, there was no doubt of that. He completed those tasks which scores of Jounins and Anbu's have failed. He had enough power, strength, and courage to go up against a Sanin, his own former student, Orochimaru. Not only that, he even brought the severed hands of the erring ninja. But the main fact remained, that he himself was still a child. Being exposed to the ninja world at such an age was harsh enough, but such staggering feats spoke of a matured mind, too matured caught in a child's body. It spoke of rigorous hours of practice, quick thinking, vast learning, and a reasoning capacity well beyond his age.

"The perfect ninja tool", Sarutobi thought with a grimace.

It was what lacked that worried Sarutobi. It lacked emotive response, awkward social behaviour, lack of love and affection, nonexistent peers, isolation. A prodigy hailed as the next clan heir, was usually set on a pedestal at a young age where he was entrapped into believing that he was above the common mass. It usually ended in either him being burdened by responsibilities and becoming a puppet or being reduced to merely a cerebral identity without the development of the qualities of compassion and kindness.

Sarutobi had himself seen his student Orochimaru rapidly descend into the path of the Evil. He knew that the worse kind of Evilness was an intelligent head without a heart. An Intelligence power well above the common masses, who looked upon them as feeble entities for no good save serving the whims and fancies of those intelligent beings like themselves. And the overachiever Itachi Uchiha, no matter how highly intelligent, was a mere kid of thirteen years subjected to varieties of external influences, and well within his formative years.

A chakra flare informed Sarutobi that the person he had been thinking of has finally arrived. Soon, the little boy stepped out from the shadows, scraping his sandals as an additional sign of his presence. He went round the desk and stooped in a bow.

Sarutobi eyed the teenager from down up. Standard ninja sandals, bandaged ankles, standard black ANBU attire,. The katana was strapped in its proper place. Nothing seemed amiss, no scratches, no cuts, no signs of struggle, no physical or mental agitation. Nothing at all.

And it worried Sarutobi even more. Though it indicated a superior control and power of a ninja,to complete the assigned task without anything betraying it's presence, the undercurrent of 'adeptness' was quite palpable. Aged ten and already 'adept'. The notion did not quite sit well with the esteemed Hokage, who upheld the liberal ideas of peace, brotherhood and companionship.

Returning without a scratch from the mission was a feat achieved by few elite ninjas, who reached that summit after years of practice.

But if Itachi had already scaled that height at age this age, what other mountain did he have to climb? What would that mind think of, when already at the threshold of goal attainment?

His mind immediately retrieved an eerie memory of long bangs, chalky face and a full blown smile of a creep. Unwillingly, a statement reverberated in the confines Sarutobi's memory.

"I am going to master every jutsu ever created!"

Sarutobi suppressed an inward shudder. The boy in front of him looked up from his bow.

"How did it go?"

"Mission Completed Successfully. The gang of dacoits had been caught and handed over to the local authorities. The ones listed by the client were eliminated. "

" Any Causalities? "

"None"

"The team?"

"Quite well"

Sarutobi leaned back and took a long puff of his cigar. Itachi Uchiha has just completed another A ranked mission. The expected time was about one week. He returned with his team, safe and sound, within three days of departure.

" I congratulate you and your team for the successful completion of the mission".

The boy bowed in acknowledgement of the compliment. However, when he looked up, his eyes were expectant.

'_Already waiting for another mission, are you? '._

"The successful completion of this mission will boost trade relations between Konoha and the bordering villages of the fire country. As a reward, I award you and your team a week-long vacation."

Sarutobi's smile however was not returned by Itachi.

" A week long?"

The voice was soft indeed. But the question mark was figuratively hanging in the air. Also the subtle stress on the 'week' didn't go unnoticed by the Hokage.

'Damn, the kid!'

Another puff of smoke followed. Sarutobi looked outside the window, lazily tracing the outlines of the building with his eyes. The evening sun reflecting off the roof of the Academy caught his eye. A second later, his wizened eyes took on the same glint. A smile began to tug at his just found another great mission for the ever famous Itachi Uchiha.

Sarutobi for a moment analysed the cost-benefit effect of the random idea that has just popped into his mind. No doubt, Itachi would probably question his sanity. But he was a loyal leaf shinobi nonetheless. It would be beneath him to dare refuse a mission.

Which left the question of _**Fugaku Uchiha!**_

'_That old geezer will certainly give me a hard time'_

Sarutobi felt a vein throbbing in his temple just at the mere mention of Fugaku.

Well for now, he was going to stick to this great brainwave he has just would deal with that old Uchiha later.A slight scraping of sandals was Itachi's cue that he was still waiting for a response. Sarutobi turned and gave him a little smile.

Itachi stiffened.

"Well yes,Itachi, a week-long rest will do you good. The missions come on a contractual basis after all, and there are other shinobis as well,who have to complete them"

The slight narrowing of Itachi's eyes made Sarutobi smile a bit more.

"But I do have a mission for you"

He waited patiently for the boy's reaction. His shoulders squared, and he shifted was fully prepared to receive the mission scroll.

"Come two days later. You are dismissed for now"

Itachi's momentary displeasure evaporated too quickly. But Sarutobi was the Hokage for a reason. His old eyes did notice it. He nodded as Itachi bowed and then noiselessly crept out of the window.

" Well, well ,well, now where was that file that Iruka had given me?"

Laughing silently to himself , Sarutobi questioned his brainwave that had randomly popped in. Would it really be a good idea? He could hardly wait to see the expression on Iruka's face! He wondered at his own eccentricity. Looks like the old age is finally getting him huh.!

* * *

The air was filled with joyful laughter near the children's park. Young parents strolled around, some holding their young ones hands, while others watching the kids play from a distance. Some stood gossiping about. All in all, it was indeed a picturesque scene. But an observant eye could see that the adults stood in two different groups occupying the two ends of the park. The children too, though playing in numerous groups, al of them yelling, laughing, smiling , shouting and running , still had some light differences. Somehow even they could be easily divided in two distinct groups.

One of these wore bandages. Their clothes had some insignia stitched on them. When they ran , they let their arms trail behind them while bowing their head a little, to achieve a streamlined shape. Their sandals made very little noise. They ran for prolonged periods without huffing or even breaking a sweat. They didn't quite attach themselves to the parents standing nearby.

The other group played with careless abandon. They held their arms in front of them, made a ruckus and fought among themselves. Occasionally, someone would scrap their knee, or cut their arm. Some of them would cry in the threatening manner of a petulant child. They ran to their parents almost every twenty minutes.

Somewhere in the middle of the park, with both the groups on either side, Sakura sat huddled in a particularly shady spot. It would have been a bit difficult to locate her, but her unusually bright pink hair gave her position away.

She did not join either of the group, but sat there patiently, casually watching the other children. Her wide green eyes rapidly flew back and forth between the two unmarked distinctions, her body quivered every now and then, itching to stand up, talk, join but never moving really. She continuously worried her lower lip, anxious, awaiting, but never quite taking the initiative to join a group of her own accord.

"Boo"

Sakura jumped at the sudden sound that startled her. Whipping her head, she was bombarded with the view of luxuriant platinum blond hair. Unconsciously, a full blown smile tugged at her lips at seeing her only friend.

" Ino. You scared me"

"Yeah, that was the point sa-ku-ra... Ino replied between fits of giggles. She gave a loud exclamation upon seeing her nerdy friend huddled with a textbook, in a park of all places. She grunted in exasperation.

"Uhh sakura, put that book away,c'mon, let's play"

Sakura 's eyes widened. Hastily she took out the loose sheets that were hidden among the page of the textbook. Doing her best to avoid Ino's eyes she quickly crumpled them up and threw it away among the long grasses near the base of the tree she had just been leaning against. Hoping fervently that Ino doesn't catch those papers, she stood up suddenly and tagged along. Her responses were loud, enthusiastic and fake to all of Ino's ramblings. Thankfully, the little Yamanaka was too young to notice the fake cheery tone that her friend had put on. It would take some years more for the Yamanaka mental prowess to develop in the usually confident kid. Sakura tagged unwillingly. She looked back to see her now crumpled papers, hidden safely among the long leaves. It was a precious possession , and she made a mental note to retrieve it later.

Ino proceeded to drag Sakura to meet her new friends, absolutely oblivious of Sakura's discomfiture. Sakura unwillingly followed suit and mumbled awkward greeting to her ninja classmates. After gawking at Kiba's elongated than usual cannines, gazing at Chouji's constant chip-chewing and mentally agreeing with Shikamaru's comments of 'boring' ,Sakura acquiesced to a simple game of tag. They spent the next hour chasing each other.

However, the fake paper bombs were an entire revelation to Sakura. She had never used these while playing with her civilian friends. Though she recognised them as a tool commonly used by ninjas of all grades, yet using them during a game of tag had been somewhat...unusual. She was a bit surprised to learn that Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji and Kiba played tag in a slightly modified manner. Each one of them had a fake paper bomb and they were to run aiming to touch each other, which in reality was a disguise attempt at pasting the paper bomb on any part of the clothing. The person who succeeded in doing so was declared as the winner of the round

Sakura had quite fallen in step and had actually begun to enjoy the game when her gaze was arrested by a vivid blue shirt standing at the stall of one of the street vendors. Attached on it was the decorative red and white fan that Sakura had come to recognise so very well. An involuntary gasp escaped her lips as she saw the almighty Sasuke Uchiha wearing a big grin and dragging a person older in tow.

Green eyes brimmed with curiosity. She looked hard at much older person whose finger was held in an iron grip by her idol Sasuke. Her eyes traced looked hard at the black clothing and standard blue ninja sandals the person was Uchiha insignia proudly stood out his back. Long black hair hair, same facial features as Sasuke, She marked as the person shifted slightly ...

'Sakura,run, Kiba is coming for you'

Rudely snapped out of her reverie , Sakura looked at Kiba's toothy grin...and broke in a run.

Her mind however was still wheeling from the information she had learnt today.

Sasuke had an older sister!

Itachi stood bemused at Sasuke's splitting grin. He looked fondly at his little brother 's eyes shine taking in the stock of the numerous food ware lined smartly at the stall. While the younger Uchiha debated what to buy, the older one , on the other hand, felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

He was being watched.

Surreptitiously, the older Uchiha spread out his awareness hoping to catch the intruder's chakra. He was surprised to find that there was none he could feel. That either means the person is of an extraordinary calibre or ...a civilian whose reserves never developed.

Shifting ever slow slightly, Itachi exposed the side of his face. His eyes, shielded by his long bangs, looked sharply at everything within his range of vision.

A flash of pink hair widened his eyes.

False alarm, it was only a child.

_**But who had pink hair?**_

Itachi mentally went through all the people he had met in Konoha, both civilian and ninja, but he remembered none with such blinding pink hair. For the heir of the Uchiha clan, this was indeed a challenge.

'Interesting'

* * *

Author's Note:

'I will master every single jutsu ever created'

This had been the indicative statement of Orochimaru's ambition. The third, had witnessed what evil a genius mind could create.

Hefervently hopes that Itachi never has the need for something like that.

Reviews spur a author to create some awesome Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Open-eyed Dreams

Chapter-4

Iruka stared at the Hokage's order clenched in his hand. He found himself speechless and completely baffled. Unpredictability was an intrinsic part of a shinobi's life, but sometimes, some situations threw even the best of them completely offguard. He briefly wondered if the Hokage was getting too old for his job, before dismissing the idea quickly from his mind, lest the Hokage, perched on his desk with hawk like eyes read his mind itself.

But in all seriousness, this was certainly not a good idea!

"Problem?"

The single worded question had the desired effect. Iruka shrunk back, swallowing heavily before choking out a strangled 'No, Hokage –sama'.

"Good, make the necessary preparations then".

"H-Hai'

Cursing his stuttering, Iruka bowed in front of the office and scrambled as quickly as possible. He wondered again at the implication of 'necessary preparations'. What preparations was he supposed to make anyway? Perhaps the installation of a fireball-proof classroom, no, academy building was required. He did need some kind of defence against the signature jutsu of the high and mighty Uchiha Clan, which would definitely incinerate his precious Academy at some point.

Really, the Hokage wanted Uchiha, and not just any Uchiha, but Uchiha Itachi to be the supervisor of a week-long training programme, that too, of the Academy students?

Of course, he himself had submitted a report to the Hokage requesting a week long practical training regimen to be included in the Academy curriculum as most of the students were totally clueless about the real life implications of being a ninja. He wanted them to know that 'playing ninja-ninja' in the Academy, won't help them survive the battlefield. Recently, quite a large number of students have been failed by their Jounin masters. Some of them returned to the Academy, and some of them just didn't. A part of him had rebelled against the idea of snatching away the innocence, care-free, and most importantly, death-free academy days of these young ninjas. The Academy perhaps, was the only part of a ninja's life where he wasn't worrying about how to evade death. There was no distrust. A kunai, to an academy child, was only a blunt object, to be held in the correct stance and aligned at the correct angle while throwing, right into the bull's eye. However, in the real ninja world, a Kunai was hardly that. It was a weapon intended for close range attacks or long range depending on the wielder, who can use chakra strings, additional chakra, or poison coating to make them more lethal. The huge chasm between the two implications was the dreaded place where many of these young enthusiastic children fell, some never to return to the world of living.

He had rebelled against himself, for inculcating the fear of death, as a subtle but extremely powerful motivating factor into spurring his students to develop the necessary survival skills before leaving the Academy itself. However, he finally concluded that perhaps giving them a sound warning was necessary if it could prevent some unnecessary deaths.

But did this task really require 'the Uchiha Itachi'. The kid who passed out barely six years ago, and is currently in Anbu squad already? Who had completed more B and A ranked missions than any other genin? Who was a walking machine, stoic faced, calculating and a damned perfectionist?

Iruka let a long sigh escape him. The scroll he was carrying would certainly cause havoc among the Academy's teaching staff.

"Good MORNING Class"

Iruka beamed at his genins-to-be. However, instead of getting the usual enthusiastic chorus of responses, he got a much watered down version of Good mornings. He wondered briefly, if it was due to the evidently false cheeriness in his voice, or the Uchiha brat standing in the doorway.

As his eyes traced the thirteen year old boy, he could not help but notice the suddenly tense atmosphere of the class. Every single student in the class had their eyes fixed on Itachi, as he strode proudly into the class. His usual all black attire seemed a little out of place in the presence of vibrant colours, but it definitely marked him out. Instead of fading into the shadows like a true ninja that he was, Itachi today, faded into the foreground.

Despite himself, Iruka felt a sense of envy bubbling up within his self. The boy had barely been there for three seconds, and already the entire class was quiet. AND He yet had to open his mouth! While he, an experienced faculty member, had to shout for a full three minutes every day before the class gave him an ear! Squashing his envy, Iruka cleared his throat, and set to introduce Itachi to the students.

"Class, this is Uchiha Itachi, a noble shinobi of Konoha, on active duty. As you know, there has been a change in the curriculum this year, to incorporate more practical exercises and field experience. Itachi-san here has taken out time for you all, so make sure you learn as much as you can, for one week, starting today, you will all be under the charge of Itachi-sensei. Don't give him a hard time.

His words were promptly forgotten as Naruto bounded up to the older Uchiha, with a splitting grin.

"Hey ,Hey,hey, can you please teach me some cool jutsu so that I can beat the Teme there?" he yelled generously all the while pointing his finger at a mini version of Itachi himself. The rest of the class stood stunned. Unknown to all, almost everyone in the room had the same question running at Naruto's idiocy. Really, the kid never failed to set a new record of idiocy every day. Only he could have possible missed out the uncanny physical resemblance between the two of them, and not to mention their same titles of Uchiha.

Itachi stood very still. All this time he had been measuring the potential of every student. He had already recognised the Inuzuka, Hyuga, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara children. Having worked alongside members hailing from these clans,he already knew their signature techniques, idiosyncrasies, preferences and other details. But that of adults!

He was absolutely at a loss as to what to do with the children. Especially, noisy, rebellious , irritating, unpolished and HIGHLY IRRITATING children. He could never remember himself being so boisterous, LOUD, and so...childish, and a illogical reasoning that the purpose of learning a jutsu was not self improvement but just to beat someone else?

Inane!

'Just why did this mission had to be one week long? Perhaps he should have asked for a vacation, after all. He could have trained. The only advantage that Itachi saw in this endeavour was that he could spend more time with his little brother and see how he does at Academy. Apparently, his little brother was 'Teme' according to the blond boy in front of him!. His lips pressed harder into a thin line. He briefly wondered if the blond was even aware of the meaning of the word he had just used. He and his brother were the offspring of a perfectly lawful marriage, for crying out loud!.but who was to explain it to the noisy kid?

Iruka felt rather than saw Itachi's worsening mood. His growing annoyance could be felt sharply, from the close distance between them. Five minutes in, and all hell had already broke loose. When you have Naruto in the class,things like that happen. Iruka was about to catch Naruto by the ear and tow him off, when he heard Itachi speaking up for the first time.

"I shall decide that after seeing your performance"

The clipped, curt answer delivered in the toneless manner made Naruto stop. He was unsure what to make of this. Does this mean he would get some extra attention, as he had really wanted, or did this person too, ignore him, like others? Unknown to him, his wide blue eyes showed every thought of his, directly to Itachi. Itachi saw the confusion, expectancy, hope, and suspicion all swirling in chaotic circles.

Despite his growing annoyance, he felt humbled on seeing expectancy in Naruto's eyes. Naruto had expectations of him. The children had expectations from him. Itachi suddenly realised, that this mission was quite different.

He had never undertaken any mission like this. His instructions scroll just described that he had to take a week long training regime, and craft exercises suitable for Academy students, while making them aware of the perils of the shinobi more. But now, staring into wide blue eyes of Naruto,Itachi almost was not just about was responsibility.

Every word that he spoke, every trick that he taught, every gesture that he made, would be soaked up by these students. It would be embedded in to their memories, probably for lifetime, if he made a mark. They would reflect back and think of his teachings in moments of indecision. They would 'look up to him', as a guiding light, as the way out of obstacles, as a motivator. They would be placing their lives into his hands, they would rely on the tactics he has taught them. They would shape themselves according to his instructions.

Itachi did not quite like this realisation. He felt unsure, and that did not sit well with him at all. Confusion leads to chaos, and that can be fatal to a ninja. While Itachi had always considered his duty to keep his teammates safe and alive on his missions, he had never responsible for their emotional safety. While he had been idolised as the big brother by Sasuke, he still never had to grasp being the guiding light, being a role model. During his Academy days, he relied very little on teachers. His father taught him most of the jutsus, tricks and practical tricks, but only up to a certain extent. Itachi taught himself mostly. He relied on his own intellect, knowledge, logic and understanding. He did not have any role model. He was no role model. Sasuke wanted to be like him, possibly even beat him, to gain the attention of their father, but he never wanted Sasuke to be like him.

Here, he saw a similar version playing in Naruto's desire. And what troubled him was that, Naruto expected the same from him, acknowledgement. Well, mere desire won't get him anywhere, he would have to earn the recognition he craved.

"That is my brother you are talking to, dobe. He will teach the jutsus to only me"

The haughty, proud tone in which this was spoken made the blond pull a rather ugly face. He whirled around to face the offender, and a verbal battle ensued, which made Iruka step in with a thunderous "Quiet both of you." He then proceeded to tow Naruto back to his desk and forbade him from leaving it again.

The not-so-hushed voices of the children circulated, debating is he really Sasuke-kun's older brother, even after the proclamation has been yelled at full pitch and there had no denial on the part of the teacher. There were confused mummers at his young age, and new face in the Academy.

Itachi scanned the faces sitting in the classroom. His eyes immediately located a vibrant shade of pink hair, the one he had seen in the park just two days ago. He studied the little girl, who was studiously avoiding his gaze and persistently kept her head down. Everything about her stance screamed of shyness.

She was avoiding him.

But the question was, why?

Itachi was well acquainted with the burning curious gaze she had directed at him the other day. It had enough power to make the hairs on the back of his neck rise. The strong curiosity combined with a decidedly shy personality, was in Itachi's eyes, definitely odd.

Much to his displeasure, he had already acquired a few preteen fan girls, who were currently gushing over his definitely handsome looks. He was uncomfortably aware of their eyes raking through his face, marvelling at the pale skin, dark eyes and soft looking short bangs framing his forehead. Stray words like 'cool', 'handsome' and 'better looking than Sasuke-kun' strayed into his auditory range. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It took another 'Stop Talking' from Iruka to finally make the class quiet enough for Itachi to start.

Once Iruka made his exit, Itachi stood at the very center of the class. He was unsure of what to do. Last night he had planned to stick to taijutsu training for the day, but after witnessing the yelling brawl he was not so sure now. So he was to teach these children that real life missions are not all roses and sunshine. Usually this was done during the genin years,or when they go on a C ranked mission. But a little preparatory ground was required. What would be a better way than to start by first taking stock of the level of understanding regarding missions of these kids. Having decided he turned to the board and started writing.

Describe the procedure of carrying out a mission, irrespective of the mission rank.

Describe the various types of threats you face while carrying out a mission. Suggest ways on how to successfully nullify them.

Describe a mission, with realistic details, that you would like to take.

You are given three scenarios. Describe the course of action that you would undertake.

Your client is an old couple who live near the woods. They have reported of mysterious noises in the cellar of their house at night. Your four man team has been dispatched to investigate. Suggest the possible courses of action, and give reasons for your choice of action.

Your mission is to gather information about a list of persons who have been reported as 'disappeared'. Suggest the courses of action.

There has been news of food poisoning in an area of the town. A lot of people had fallen ill. Your task is two-fold. One to ascertain the cause of food poisoning. Two, to effectively distribute medical supplies. Along with your four man team you also have a three member team of medic nin. Describe how you tackle the situation.

"Your time limit is three hours. You can consult your textbooks if you wish. However, no two answer sheets should carry the same answer. You would not like the consequences"

With that monotonous instruction and barely veiled threat, Itachi exited the classroom.

Only to go in an adjoining room and find a suitable place from which he could spy on the kid's activities.

The children looked with open mouths at each other. "What just happened" seemed to be the unspoken question on everybody's mind. Perhaps for the first time in their lives have they seen such an eccentric teacher. He came, gave no introduction, asked for no introduction, taught no lesson, told no stories-but just wrote the questions to be solved and went away, just like that!

Most of the students knew that the answers to these questions were not to be found in the textbooks at all. This was so unreal to them, to be asked a question randomly, without having any lecture on the subject, without being told what the answer was. This was cheating!

The idea of bunking came into their minds, but they knew they could not do so. The only way out was to answer the questions. Besides, Itachi-sensei was nothing short of scary. They intuitively knew that to disobey his command would rather be a costly affair. Perhaps it was eerily still way he stood, or his face which never smiled. Or it could have been the way his eyes fixed them directly. There was nothing to do except try and think of the suitable answers to the question.

Sasuke was scowling. This was so not happening. His jealousy grew at the thought of sharing precious time with his nii-san with all the academy students. Just what was his nii-san doing in front of the class? Did this mean, that nii-san was the external teacher the Academy teachers have been talking about? His annoyance increased tenfold,at the thought of naruto being trained by his brother. HIS BROTHER.

Sasuke had every intention of monopolising Itachi's attention. But the more sensible part of his mind warned him against doing it. After all, nii-san had not even once mentioned his name, nor did he say anything when he had announced their relationship. But still. Nii-san was HIS.

Speaking of tests, Sasuke looked around and found his classmates struggling to come up with answers. He knew that his brother had been too generous in allowing three hours for answering the questions. This was just the testing phase. Sasuke knew first hand, just how much more complicated exercises lay in store for them. And he would be damned if he let any other student fare better than him!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclamer: I don't own naruto.

AU: Non-massacre.

Summary: Haruno Sakura was one of the few civilian children present in the esteemed Konoha Ninja Academy. Her previous records showed her as a Straight A student, curious by nature and quick to grasp things. However, her homeroom teacher constantly found her to be spaced-out and almost earmarked to be a dropout soon for reasons beyond his comprehension. Can a chanced meeting with the Uchiha prodigy save Sakura and her failing dream of being a ninja?

Koji and Ishikawa are fictional characters.

A big Thank You to everyone who reviewed, followed and marked open-eyed dreams as favourite. Thank You ,Thank you. I'm terribly sorry for this long gap in posting. Terribly sorry! I thought I just cannot write stuff people would like to read, but then I saw your reviews and I was elated!

Itachi stood in the dark room adjoining the classroom watching as his brother and his classmates struggled with his questions. A peep hole was pulled back, allowing him to see clearly what the kids were doing. Itachi still felt unsure of what to do next. His annoyance was wiped off the instant he gazed into Naruto's expectant eyes. At this moment, he was at a loss what to do next. His battle instincts screamed at him to quickly assess the situation and formulate a plan, but so far he had not been able to do so. The questions he had improvised were nothing but a move to buy some time. _**When in confusion, always observe**_**.** This had been his core philosophy for most of his career, and he was doing so now as well. The questions were an improvisation tactic he had devised to buy some time to think, to observe and come up with a good idea of shaping up these bunch of toddlers. It would serve two purposes simultaneously. One, he would be able to see firsthand how the kids respond to an unforeseen situation, and two, he would understand how their minds really processed the situation and how good an answer they come up with.

A part of him was worried how Sasuke would take this development. It was a huge shocker for his kid brother to see him standing at the classroom podium. Itachi had told him nothing about this mission. And that possessive declaration he made in front of the whole class...well, he would have to take care of that too. Itachi mentally prepared to be bombarded with questions, pouts, and possessive talks from his kiddo. Almost reflexively, a fond smile spread on his lips at the thought of his brother, all worked up, huffing in annoyance to see his big brother sharing his exclusive training time with all of his classmates.

For the moment, the antics of the children were getting really difficult to ignore. As expected, Naruto was bobbing his head frantically, leafing over pages of his textbooks. Sasuke had his eyebrows scrunched up, and the top of his pencil was nearing his mouth, in an unconscious attempt of gnawing. Itachi made a mental note of nipping this in the bud before it developed into a habit. His eyes then flitted over to Shikamaru, and widened imperceptibly.

The Nara kid was looking straight in his direction! His eyes roved about, not really fixed at a specific point. Either he was just plainly looking at the details of the wall, or maybe he was trying to figure out the peephole. Could he have figured out that he was spying on the kids? Either way, Itachi could not be sure what was on Nara kid's mind. Instinctively, Itachi shrank back a bit, seeking to stick to shadows, despite the fact that he didn't need to do it.

His eyes then landed on a mass of pink hair. The girl had her head bent, supposedly in a deep thought. Her inattentiveness to the continuous chatter of the Yamanaka girl next to her was completely obvious. She seemed to be lost in some thought. Inattentiveness screamed out loud from her body posture. She was a civilian child right? So what was she doing in the ninja academy?

While the presence of civilian children in the ninja academy was by no means a rare thing, it was a well known fact among the shinobi circles that civilian children never made it far. It was a simple fact-shinobi children brought their clan techniques, superior stamina, strength, healing ability, endurance and enhanced genetic composition. With such peer circles, civilians without a doubt were considered as inferior breed. It would be considered as a major feat if civilian children even passed the Jounin Instructor's test.

His curiosity has been roused by this pink haired odd child. He kept going back to the stare he had received from her. 'The _**burning**_ stare, rather'. Itachi mentally corrected his thoughts.. It was nothing short of disconcerting to see such a powerful gaze coming from a meek civilian. He felt he was missing something big, something in that little pinkie. Something gave him an odd feeling of keeping the girl in his sight all the time while forcing her to use that gaze again. It would be wise to learn about her first and her reasons for joining the ninja academy. If the girl wasn't good enough, she would be just wasting her time...and his as well.

One by one, Itachi took every child's behaviour into account. It was no difficult thing for him to remember the individual tendencies and assess the skill level of the children. However, most of them seemed to fail the real test. Out of a class of thirty students, only some nine or ten seemed to be actually raking their brains in order to come up with a solution. Most of the students were either too nervous, no, panicked, to actually think while others seemed to have already accepted the fate that their test papers would have a bright red zero stamped on it.

Still hidden in the dark room, Itachi resisted the urge to mutter under his breath, 'this was bad' he thought to himself. If the majority of the student population broke into nervous jitters over some simple questions, just how would they handle the simulated missions Itachi was supposed to draft for them? Lips thinning,he pushed himself off the wall and proceeded towards the staff room. A last glance at the girl showed her to be busy scribbling away at the test paper.

The staff room office of Konoha Ninja Academy was a large hall, lined with cubicles criss-crossing the centre of the room, in a large square. Comfortable couches lined the walls, separated intermittently by a flower pot or an aquarium. Scrolls, parchments, test papers, blunt kunais and shurikens dominated the room, to be found on every desk. Adjoining the staff room was the Record Room, with an ominous sign of "Authorised Personnel Only" stamped of its wooden contour. On a normal day, the staff room would be bustling with teachers who would either be busy gossiping about, or trying hard to ignore others while concentrating on grading a stack of test papers. The hot topics of gossip usually revolved around the lamentations of being stuck with slow-witted ninja-would-be's , the latest batch, the rookie of the year and the ever present teacher's woes of facing the dropping standards of Academy students every year.

Today however, the staff room was completely quiet, except for one low voice addressing all the other teachers. Iruka stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by all the staff members. One single topic has been doing rounds for more than a week.

"I know he's Anbu, but, this mission requires a different kind of skill set. Do you think he would be able to keep the children in check without losing his temper? I wouldn't be surprised if he fishes out a kunai."

"He's ANBU, Ishikawa. ANBU's simply do not lose focus. Besides, have you ever seen him angry? The kid is a prodigy, the kind that comes once in generations. Teaching a class of Academy students would be like a vacation to him. The kids are really lucky to have him as an external teacher"

"I just hope the kids actually learn something despite their nervousness. His presence must be intimidating enough. There hasn't been a single sound from 301 this morning! I'd always wished the children be nice and quiet, but this quietness feels so unnatural!"

"Little Sasuke is in the same class, is he not? I think he will throw a tantrum, from what you have told us about the introduction, Iruka."

"I wonder why Hokage-sama assigned him of all people. Any of the Chunins or Jounins could have done it. Has he displeased Hokage-sama in some manner that he had been assigned this mission? His skills certainly could be utilized in the higher-ups."

"Rubbish, Koji. Do you have a problem with Hokage-sama's decision?"

Among the multitude of varying voices, all spoken in low whispers, no one really noticed the figure standing in the doorway until there was a deliberate sound of the scraping of shoes. The huddled group of Academy staff teachers jumped out of their skins as if someone has just chidori-sparked them.

They almost held their breaths as they saw _**who**_ exactly has been standing in the doorway.

"Iruka-san, a moment please?"

"h-Hai, Itachi-san"

Iruka really hated his voice as it came out stuttered. His voice always betrayed the emotions he felt.

"I would like to go through the profiles of all the students under my charge"

"Sure. I'll just get them."

As Iruka proceeded towards the door marked "Authorised Personnel Only" he caught Ishikawa's eye and immediately knew that the same question was going through their minds.

'Why would one need to go through the profile of ALL students for preparing them for D ranked missions. These are academy students, not even genins yet!' Was the prodigy thinking of sending the Academy kids on a mission?

Iruka mentally prayed for his little ones to be safe and sound by the end of the week as he pulled out the large folder of fourth year students. He gazed a little bit longer than necessary at Itachi while giving him the folder. Itachi looked coolly back.

"Good Luck with the Academy students, Itachi-san. I'm sure the students will benefit from your lectures."

The deliberate injection of 'academy students' and 'lectures' in the polite sentence didn't go unnoticed by anyone.

"Thank you Iruka-san. I will carry out my responsibilities in the best way possible."

With that polite response, Itachi turned and walked back to the class. Iruka stood there, silently wondering what a stupid fool he was, trying to instruct Itachi. The kid always does the job well, doesn't he?

Sakura sat quietly in her chair, gnawing the top of her pencil. However, the activity didn't give her a brainwave. With almost forty five minutes gone, she was still stuck on second answer. She knew that the answers to the questions were not present in the textbook. They had to think it out themselves and come up with something satisfactory enough to pass the test. Itachi-san wanted them to visualize the scenarios while sticking to the mission protocol and information gathering strategies described in their course book "Mission Protocol-A basic Guide" .It was tricky indeed. He was a tough teacher.

She snorted as she recalled the moment he stood in class. She was so ecstatic about seeing Sasuke-kun's older sister and was mentally preparing herself to greet her as nee-chan. It was only when she looked at him closely did she realize that she was actually a 'he'. And then Sasuke-kun told the class itself that he has a brother! Since that declaration, Sakura kept her eyes glued to the floor. She was too embarrassed to even look up for the fear of catching Itachi-san eyes unintentionally. She had been going over and over the moment when she had seen Itachi-san's back that day in the park. She hoped with all her heart that he wouldn't have noticed. But a furious part treacherously whispered in her mind that yes, he must've noticed. Her face fell in mortification every time this thought crossed her mind, which was, well a lot!

Also she couldn't resist comparing the two brothers. They looked so similar! The only major difference she could find was that Itachi-san has considerably longer hair and deep set eyes, which in turn protruded his cheekbones. Good looks indeed ran in the family. She had kept quiet the entire time Ino was ranting about how good looking Itachi san was, but mentally she agreed with every single word before hushing her up and forcing her to turn to her test paper.

Itachi-san was definitely an extremely odd teacher. He didn't even stay in the class as he assigned them the test! Furthermore, he assigned them questions which weren't even present in the book and that too without teaching a single word. The entire class seemed to be muttering about the unfairness of the entire thing. Even Iruka sensei hadn't come in to save them. They were truly at his mercy. Their schedule stated that the entire week there will be no classes except Itachi-sensei's. If the first morning class was like _**this,**_ what would the afternoon class be like?

Finally, the three hours were up. The recess bell was the sweetest sound ever to the brain-drained kids. The entire class came alive. All of a sudden there was a great deal of shuffling, screaming, and running as everyone bounded towards the door. Ino and Sakura held their respective bento boxes to their chest as they ran towards the swings determined to get the best swings before anyone else did.

Itachi made his way to the classroom to collect the papers when the tiny scowling figure in the doorway made him pause in his tracks. Sasuke stood blocking the entrance, a deep set scowl on his face. At the sight of his aniki , he bellowed in a high pitched voice.

" Neeeeeee-saaaan"

No more words were needed as his face contorted into a flurry of expressions from accusation, fury, anger, hurt, betrayal and finally between a pout and a grimace.

Itachi chuckled and did his favourite thing. He poked his little brother's forehead. Another bellow of "niiii saaan" followed and Sasuke jumped up to swat his brother's hands away. He looked ready to burst. Itachi promptly brought out a big ripe tomato. Sasuke huffed. The single tomato was joined by two smaller but equally ripe ones and a bar of ice cream.

"Neeeee-saan, why did you not tell me?"

His brother was really angry. Itachi began using his most patient voice.

"Sasuke , I'll explain everything at home, okay?"

"Neee-saaan"

Nope. He won't let go.

"Sasuke...At home,okay?"

"Will you train me after dinner today?"

The accusing glare gave way to softer tones of expectancy. Itachi felt a certain tenderness at his brother's little source of worry. He smiled, and poked his brother's forehead again.

"Yes."

" Promise"?

"I promise...now go play with your classmates Sasuke ."

Unknown to Sasuke, a pair of vivid blue eyes was hungrily devouring the exchange between the two brothers.

"You can come out Naruto-san."

Naruto shocked to his core, fell out of the tree. Never has anyone caught him whenever he was up in this particular tree. The red and yellow blooms camouflaged him perfectly .Any sound made by him were drowned by the chirping of the birds. He had learnt to stop reaching for the birds nest after the getting repeatedly hit in the head by them and instead preferred to watch people from his concealed place. No one, not even Iruka sensei ever was able to spot him in this tree. Well, that was before...Itachi-sensei.

"Ha-Ha,Sasuke,I was practicing. I'm going to beat you in this tree climbing match we had for today! Dattebayo"

"What? There was no match today.."

"Hahhaha, so are you telling me that you are scared , Sasuke-kuuuuunn? Of course you will be scared, after all you are up against the strongest tree climber of the entire ninja academy."

"Hn...dobe, you need balance to climb a tree, not strength. Obviously, you don't have it seeing that you just fell out."

"So are you chickening out, Sasuke kuuuun?"

"What? No. I'll show you how an expert climbs the tree."

Soon, their shouts became distant as the two boys ran off to scale up the nearby trees. Itachi gazed at the duo. However, it didn't escape his notice that neither the two boys joined a group nor were they invited by others. Well, it was the same with him too. He straightened up and went inside to collect the papers.

Sakura and Ino were spread out on the grass with half eaten bento boxes between them. The duo was engaged in an argument about the sightseeing places in the land of Fire. Most of them were outside Konoha and neither of the girls had ever been there. Ino learnt about it by listening to her father and Sakura learnt by poring over her Social Sciences textbooks prescribed in Public School she attended during evenings.

They have got into an argument regarding the district location of the Fire High Temple. Neither of them was backing down. Fortunately, Sakura remembered that she had her Social Sciences textbook in her satchel as she had classes today. With a triumphant grin she skipped her way back to the class. She would pull out the topic on the Fire High Temple and prove Ino to be wrong. However she paused once she reached the classroom door. Someone was here.

"I-Itachi-sensei.."

Uh-ho, that wasn't supposed to be said aloud,! Sakura panicked. Why, why, why? Why was Itachi-sensei here, at this exact moment? She mentally smacked herself as she saw the papers in his hand. Of course!

"Yes?"

"Um...I needed a book from my satchel. Can I please take it?"

"Sure."

Sakura hurried over to her bag, fished out the book and promptly scurried out of the classroom after giving a small bow to her teacher. But that was enough for Itachi to recognise that the book in her hand was not one of the ninja academy publications as the leaf insignia was not present. Neither did it belong to any library as there was no code written. The binding was unfamiliar. As she turned to go Itachi caught a glimpse of the title. "Everything about the Fire Country series-Grade 5" . His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. There were classes conducted on the history of Konoha in the country with the necessary focus on the Fire Country as well. But the book as Itachi remembered from his days in the Academy, was a thin one and definitely not part of any series.

He gazed at the bob of pink hair scampering in the field outside with the Yamanaka girl chasing after her. What was this girl upto? He picked up the folder given to him by Iruka and flipped till he found a photograph of a ridiculously bright pink hair. Test papers can wait.

Author's note:

So there, the next chapters will see a lot more interaction between the Prodigy and the Pinkie.

Your reviews motivate me to write better. It's a great feeling to read a review!


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